in presidential politics, there are basically two issues, the economy and war. and if the nation's economy continues to improve, if we're able to get out of afghanistan the way the president got us out of iraq. this issue of gun violence is emerging very quickly. and i have no doubt that it could become one of the dominant issues in the midterm election and also in the general election. >> also making news this morning, a story that has left a lot of football fans, well, you don't even have to be a faj because you probably heart about left folks feeling duped. notre dame's linebacker, manti teo's girlfriend died back in september, at least that's what we thought but it turned out to be a hoax. nbc's john yang joins me now from south bend, indiana. and john, what are we hearing from manti teo himself. >> reporter: last night teo issued a statement in which he said that this whole thing was incredibly embarrassing. he said they developed an emotional relationship with a woman i met online. we maintained what i thought to be an authentic relationship by communicati